Most of us have seen mystery shopper
online scams, whether we know it or not. We regularly receive emails from
people perpetrating them or see advertisements for them on the Web. In fact,
the mystery shopper online scam is actually one of the most visible scams on
the Internet, in spite of the fact that not everyone knows it for what it is.
The mystery shopper scheme is one of
those online scams that cynical persons will instinctively shy away from. This
is because it starts off by promising you a large reward for a relatively
simple task.
There are many variants of this
formula now, but the original online scams featured a salary of several hundred
dollars in exchange for a job as a mystery shopper working from home. In other online scams, it might be a large salary in exchange for a job answering surveys from home instead.
Again, the formula is what matters
and is what causes cynics to shy away. Think about this rationally, after all:
who would offer such a large salary to someone without relevant credentials and
for such a simple job? When the exchange looks too good to be true, some
cynicism is in order.
How
Do Mystery Shopper Online Scams Get Your Money?
There are two ways that the people
operating such online scams can get money out of you. The first and more common
method is by demanding an upfront payment for training and company materials.
This is fairly similar to the
so-called “talent agencies” who prey on would-be actors, models, and other
entertainers: they often state that in order for them to get the entertainers
jobs, they need to be paid money first in order to secure all the necessary
materials for bookings.
Remember, however, that if you are
hired by a legitimate company, it will not compel you to pay for
company-sourced materials or training that are necessary for your job. These
are costs absorbed by legitimate companies as part of their personnel training
programmes.
If a company claims to need you to
pay them for such things, ask yourself this, “Given that they are the ones who
employ you, why are you the one paying them?”
This does not mean that if a company
seemingly sends you payment, it is legitimate. The second method of getting
money from targets in mystery shopper online scams is through sending them
fraudulent cheques as first payments for the job.
The scammer will ask the target to
send back a portion of the payment as payment for training materials. The
target cashes the cheque, trusting in its validity, then sends the payment for
training materials. It is only afterwards that he discovers that the cheque
bounced and he is down by a couple of hundred dollars in his bank account.
Once again, you simply need to
remember that you should not be sending money out to anyone you do not know and
for reasons that sound too good to be true. Online scams only work because too
many people ignore their more practical nature in order to chase a dream of
easy money.
